29mo
More and most
Warm enough for what? Bigger than what? A degree can be measured on its own, and it can also be held up against something else. mo takes the place the four degree words take and makes that comparison, with sheo naming what it is against:
SceneI
lohau sheo misheko mo whalo nai.misheko sheo lohau mo maeli nai.wheo sheo lopia mo serao nai.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| mo | mo | (before a quality: more) |
| sheo | she · o | than |
| serao | se · ra · o | old |
The dog is bigger than the cat. The cat is quieter than the dog. The elder is older than the child. Read the shape once and it stays: the thing, then sheo and its rival, then mo and the quality.
SceneII
ha napa mo welao nai.ha philo mo sulae nai.luphore mo reshi nai.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| reshi | re · shi | fast |
This bread is better. Today is warmer. The river is faster. When everyone already knows what the comparison is against, Phi leaves it out, exactly as you would.
SceneIII
ha napa mo ko welao nai.ha thepalu mo ko mioru nai.wheo nophi mo ko laeno nai.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| mioru | mi · o · ru | beautiful |
Add ko and the comparison runs out of rivals: the best bread, the most beautiful garden, the longest of the elder's stories. The pair is fixed and always in that order.
SceneIV
misheko mo ko whalo nolika ma nai.whekai misheko tha shia mo ko whalo nolika nai tho remo.
The cat is not the largest animal. The cat, however, believes that it is. Comparison states a relation and nothing more; it hands out no rank, and any rank the cat has awarded itself was not in the grammar.